ARCHOS just announced the GamePad, which is similar to the Xperia Play and WikiPad. It is essentially a tablet with full gaming controls. I think this type of device is going to be very popular and will show significant growth in 2013. Among physical control buttons and analog sticks, the ARCHOS GamePad features a 7-inch display, a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor, a Mali 400mp quad-core GPU, and Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. It will also include patented automatic game recognition and mapping tools that will ensure control compatibility with every advanced Android game.

ARCHOS didn’t disclose the price, but they did say it would be available in October. It seems like a nice device, but I think at this point in the game, devices such as this need to have a quad-core processor. I’m excited to get my hands on it though.

Full press release after the break:

ARCHOS combines physical gaming controls with a full Android-powered tablet to create the GamePad

Denver, CO – August 29, 2012 – ARCHOS, an award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, is proud to announce their first gaming tablet. This new type of tablet, the GamePad, combines gaming controls with Android for a full tablet and gaming experience in one. Gamers will not only have access to all their favorite games, they will also have access to email, Internet, apps and more through one device.

The GamePad features a 7-inch, capacitive screen, physical control buttons and analog sticks. This Google certified tablet has full access to Google PlayTM for the tens of thousands of games available, runs a dual-core processor @ 1.5 GHz combined with a Mali 400mp quad-core GPU. In addition, the GamePad includes automatic game recognition and mapping tools – patented technology to ensure control compatibility with every advanced Android game.

Until now, tablets provided gamers with touch controls that lacked response and compatibility for their advanced games, providing a disappointing gaming experience. As one of the main tablet uses, there is a strong need for a tablet that does more for gaming. Thanks to the complete touch and physical controls of the ARCHOS GamePad, Gamers can enhance their experience starting at the end of October 2012 for less than 150€.

“When Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, was first released they included game controller support within the framework and that is when we decided to build the GamePad,” says Henri Crohas, ARCHOS Founder and CEO.

Some leading game developers have already embraced the physical controller support that was introduced with ICS rendering their apps compatible with the physical controls of the GamePad or with game controllers plugged into tablets or phones.

However many games originally did not include physical control mapping, which is why ARCHOS developed their mapping and game recognition tool; a patented technology that allows any virtual controls to be mapped the GamePad’s physical control buttons.

“Thanks to the mapping and automatic game recognition systems included on the GamePad, we already have over a thousand android games compatible with the ARCHOS GamePad’s physical controls, including back catalog titles that originally didn’t include physical controls,” continued Crohas.

ATTENTION DEVELOPERS
Over the past six months, ARCHOS has been discussing the GamePad with leading Android game developers around the world to make their games compatible with the GamePad’s physical controls and now we invite others to participate.

Developers interested in getting their current and upcoming games mapped for the ARCHOS GamePad can contact GamePad@archos.com.

Robert lives in upstate New York where he was born and raised. Technology was always his passion. His first computer was a Radio Shack TRS80 Color that used a cassette tape to save programs, and his first laptop was a Toshiba T1200FB that sported a CGA greyscale screen and two 720kb floppy drives (no hardrive).
From the early 90’s through late 2011, he only owned Motorola phones starting with the MircroTAC all the way through to the Droid X. He broke that streak when he bought the Galaxy Nexus. Now he's sporting a Galaxy Note 4, and absolutely loves it.
He has a wonderful wife and a 6 year old son. In his free time he enjoys sports, movies, TV, working out, and trying to keep up with the rapid fast world of technology.

Frans-Peter van der Leur

Wow, it has tablet software! The tablets of early 2011 are still running on an old phone Android OS….. after sales is extremely poor, so potential buyers: beware!